Seattle Sounders 2, Club America 2 | CONCACAF Champions League Match Recap

Clint Dempsey scored on either side of halftime, but it wasn’t enough as Club America found two equalizers and played the Seattle Sounders to a 2-2 draw Tuesday night in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series in Seattle.

America’s Carlos Darwin Quintero netted on a counter just over a minute after Dempsey’s first goal which came right before halftime, a beautifully struck free kick. Mexican international forward Oribe Peralta then scored in the 70th minute to erase the Seattle striker’s 52nd-minute corner-kick header goal, punctuating a night of end-to-end action at a raucous CenturyLink Field.

The scene shifts to legendary Azteca Stadium in Mexico City for the deciding leg next week with the defending CCL champions holding the away-goals tiebreaker.

Box Score

• 44’ – SEA – Clint Dempsey
• 45’ – AME – Carlos Darwin Quintero (Rubens Sambueza)
• 52’ – SEA – Clint Dempsey (Andreas Ivanschitz)
• 70’ – AME – Oribe Peralta (Rubens Sambueza)
• Full box score
• Stats

Three Things

1. GOODBYE MARTINS, HELLO MORRIS:Obafemi Martins’ reported departure to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua opened the door for Morris’ competitive professional debut with his hometown club. The former Stanford star and offseason Homegrown Player signing started as part of a three-man front, firing off two shots in 85 minutes of action. And he nearly scored in the 12th minute when his flicked-on header was narrowly palmed away by America goalkeeper Hugo Gonzalez on the goal line.
2. RUST DOESN’T SHOW: If Seattle were rusty, playing in their first competitive match since Nov. 8, 2015, it certainly didn’t show. They staggered America twice thanks to Dempsey’s first two CCL goals of his career and they finished with the possession advantage. The home side was narrowly outshot 12-11 against an America that has already played seven matches in the current Liga MX season and trotted out a first-choice lineup.
3. FIRST LINEUP OF 2016: Sigi Schmid sent out a new-look 4-3-3 lineup in a competitive match to mixed results. The attack – with Nelson Valdez leading a three-man line that included Dempsey on the left and Morris on the right, and a midfield of Osvaldo Alonso, Andreas Ivanschitz and Erik Friberg – created plenty of chances. But Seattle were caught on the break more than once, with America’s first goal coming in a flash with the lightning-fast Quintero burning the Sounders defense.

Next Up

SEA: March 2 at Club America (8 pm ET)

Goal SEA No. 2 Clint DEMPSEY@clintdempsey | @SoundersFC@ClubAmerica#SCCLhttps://t.co/tDEfYQE4rF

— THE CHAMPIONS (@TheChampions) February 24, 2016

Goal SEA No. 2 Clint DEMPSEY@clintdempsey | @SoundersFC@ClubAmerica#SCCLhttps://t.co/3He2FeIvsx

— THE CHAMPIONS (@TheChampions) February 24, 2016

Goal AME No. 24 Oribe PERALTA @Oribe Peralta | @SoundersFC@ClubAmerica#SCCLhttps://t.co/WEMio22PAi

— THE CHAMPIONS (@TheChampions) February 24, 2016